John Thomson: The Prince of Goalkeepers and a True Gentleman
MY SEARCH FOR CELTIC'S JOHN
By Tom Greig
McCormack House, Glasgow, Scotland
www.thethomsonlegend.com
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
"They never die who live in the hearts they leave behind." - Glasgow Celtic manager, Willie Maley, penned this tribute at the untimely death of 22 year old first-choice, Glasgow Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson, who died tragically during a football game between Celtic and Rangers on September 5, 1931.
Scottish-born author Tom Greig, recently spoke to The Celtic Connection about his newly published book, My Search for Celtic's John. He said, “If I were to take you today some 70 odd years on to the grave of John Thomson, it would still be maintained with dignity and care and visited by football fans, not just Celtic fans but of other clubs, because he was a Scottish international goalkeeper.
“His grave is festooned with flowers, scarves, bonnets and memorabilia from all over the world. What always intrigued me was the uniqueness of John Thomson that he should be remembered when statues of great parliamentarians are entertained in street squares only by pigeons – yet a 22-year old boy could inspire such affection and love all these years on. I decided to find out for myself what was so unique about John Thomson.”
Tom Greig began his career as a teacher before going on to become a college lecturer where he trained student teachers. Before retiring he spent the last 24 years as an Inspectorate of Schools of Scotland.
It was while giving a lecture to head teachers in Fife that he decided to take a walk through the tiny mining village community on his lunch break, mainly to see if he could learn anything that he might impart to his history students.
“Quite by chance,” said Greig, “I came upon a little graveyard and I went in to have a look and there it was...the huge headstone and grave of John Thomson. As I rested at his graveside, I began to realize that I wanted to know more about John Thomson.
“It was well documented that Thomson was a sportsman of legendary status and most of the chapters written about him were in generalities and about the man’s death. It was the social and personal history that seemed to be lacking, nobody had ever written a book of any substance about him.
“I had written two previous books, one was an educational textbook on activity learning for children and the other was the history of the Clyde Football Club, and I had no intention of writing another book. But because I couldn’t seem to find the answers to my many questions about John Thomson, and because his name kept slipping in and out of my consciousness, I decided to push the research further and write a book.”
This decision proved to be a lot more difficult for Greig than he ever expected. On several occasions he returned to Thomson’s grave for inspiration when he came up against a brick wall in his research. But just when he least expected it, something serendipitous would fall his way and the right person would be there to help him find the pieces to the puzzle.
Among Thomson’s many attributes, he was known as the Prince of Goalkeepers and a gentleman both on and off the playing field. He was a deeply religious person having been brought up by his parents in an extreme Protestant sect called the Church of Christ, which was a little to the right of Baptist thinking.
Thomson carried his faith and bible with him throughout his outstanding and exceptional career. Football fans came from all over just to see Thomson in action on the playing field and they were awed and inspired by his physical prowess. It has been said that his eyes never left the ball until it was out of play.
Renowned for his bravery and fearlessness, Thomson’s dive at the feet of Rangers forward Sam English as he went to shoot was visible evidence of those virtues. As English shot, Thomson’s head took the full impact of the other player’s knee, leaving the goalkeeper unconscious and his head bleeding. He died later in hospital having never regained consciousness after the accident. Thomson’s death stunned football fans and was particularly hard felt by everyone connected with Celtic.
“One of the most exciting parts of my research was finding Margaret Finlay, who was John Thomson’s sweetheart,” said Tom Greig, “not only was it historically the most difficult part of my research but also because the leads I had were insignificant. Fortunately, a little luck sometimes falls your way upon meeting the right person.”
In summing up the end result of his long hours of research, Greig said, “I rest content in the belief that I have got as close to Johnny as anyone who has tried before. I’m not an overly-sentimental man but there were many occasions in my search for Celtic’s John when I found a lump in my throat, been close to tears and even been moved to them.”
You don’t have to be a football fan to read My Search for Celtic’s John because the dedication and values of John Thomson are as much an inspiration today as they were back then. But for football historians and lovers of the game this book would be of great interest. Another bonus of My Search for Celtic’s John are some rare and never-before-published photographs of John Thomson.
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http://www.thetomsonlegend.com/N.B. Special thanks to Bill Duncan of Maple Ridge, British Columbia for bringing the book My Search for Celtic’s John to the attention of The Celtic Connection.
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